Floor Problem

[KristiLU]

During the final sanding and swedish coating of my new floor the hardwood guy called me to come home. He showed me the screen. It had clumpy stuff in it that almost looked like little slugs. He said that it should have been more like a cloud of dust. What would cause this to happen? He continued to screen, then cleaned the floor with a laquer, and finished with the final coat. Now you can see circular scratches all over the floor under that coat. It doesn't look right. The satin finish also looks more like a hazy matte finish. Help!!!

[Ray Darrah]

The last coat sealed over. I would guess somebody tried to dry the coating with fans rather than allow the coating to cure/set up.
The sealer skins over leaving that under the surface not cured... So you sand or screen the floor to get lumps/bumps and ugly stuff in the pads.

Another answer may simply be that they got back to re-coating a bit too soon.

This floor needs to be sanded back to the wood surface and start the process all over again to be rid of the sanding marks.

[Ray Darrah]

1. Oil-modified urethane is generally the most common surface finish and is easy to apply. It is a petroleum base with a blend of synthetic resins, plasticizers and other film forming ingredients that produces a durable surface that is moisture-resistant. It is a solvent-base polyurethane that dries in about eight hours. This type of finish ambers with age. and comes in different sheen levels.


2. Moisture-cured urethane is a solvent-base polyurethane that is more durable and more moisture resistant than other surface finishes. Moisture-cure urethane comes in non-yellowing and in ambering types and is generally available in satin or gloss. These finishes are extremely difficult to apply, have a strong odor and are best left to the professional.
Curing of this type of finish is by absorbing minute quantities of moisture vapor from the air, which causes them to dry and harden. The curing process is very dependant on relative humidity.


3. Water-based urethane is a water-borne urethane with a blend of synthetic resins, plasticizers and other film forming ingredients that produces a durable surface that is moisture-resistant. These finishes are clear and non-yellowing and are different sheen levels. They have a milder odor than oil-modified finishes have and they dry in about two to three hours. Water-based urethanes are generally more expensive.


4. Converstion-Varnish Sealers-(Swedish Finishes)- A two-component acid-curing, alcohol-based sealers. Because of their origin (country), conversion varnish sealers are often referred to as Swedish finishes

5. Penetrating Sealers - These sealers are spread on the floor and allowed to penetrate and are solvent based. The excess sealer is removed with rags or buffed in with synthetic or steel wool pads. This type of finish often have a color and can be used to stain and seal the wood floor. Penetrating Oil Sealers are made from tung or linseed oil, with additives improve drying and hardness.


6. Paste Wax- The oldest, and in some ways the best. Wax is the easiest to apply, least expensive, fastest drying, easiest to repair, and with proper care will survive forever. Wax over a penetrating stain, and the system is in the wood so you wear the wood, not the finish. Wax is spread in thin coats for a surface protection after the stain and/or sealer is applied, then buffed to the desired sheen.


7. Varnish- Vinyl-alkyd varnishes have superseded natural varnish made from vegetable oils. This product was commonly used before urethane finishes where introduced.

8. Lacquer - The flammability and incompatibility of this floor finish is NOT a recommended by many manufacturers. This finish should avoided.

9. Shellac - This product (natural shellac) contains wax and is not widely used for top coating in today's wood flooring market. Dewaxed shellac is becoming used more and more for a wood floor sealer.

NOTE: Inspection of wood floor finishes should be made from a standing position (five feet up and two feet away) with normal lighting. Light glare from windows, added lighting (flood lights) magnify any irregularities in the floor surface and should NOT determine acceptability of the finish.

Properties of Wood Floor Finishes